What is Right?
by riversong15
Summary: "There's always something underlying us. Ever since you came into my life, every interaction between us has been like this. And it always will be." When Callie and Brandon know that what they have isn't going away, they decide to wait until the time is right, but when obstacles stand in the way of their future, what will they do? Completed.
1. The Week Before

Author's Note: Welcome to my newest mulit-fic about my favorite TV couple ever (an opinion, just an opinion). If you've read _Whispers and Screams _you would know that I really like too write unhappy things. Well, this story is much happier than _Whispers and Screams_, although it will have its ups and downs (because I just love those too much). Same as before, this story will be updated every day/every other day, only difference is chapters are much shorter than _Whispers and Screams _chapters. I will shut up now and let you read. Enjoy!

* * *

They had a sort of agreement. They could talk, they could hang out, and they could be near each other, in the same house, and be normal around each other. But no touching. Not even a hug or brushing by each other near the moms.

The moms thought they needed to detox, get each other out of their system. It didn't work because neither could forget how happy they were for those few weeks they were sneaking around, lying to adults, just for those few moments where they could act like a modern day Romeo and Juliet.

You couldn't say that it was harder for one than the other. Both pined for the other but the degrees at which they showed it varied. Brandon was obvious whenever Callie was in the room. He would make an effort to talk to her about something, anything that happened and Callie welcomed it anytime.

The only time Callie made it apparent was when Brandon had that short stint with Talya. It was like Brandon was when Wyatt was brought up back when he was dating Callie. Callie would darken and no one would notice except the moms. Stef worried that things with the two of them were weird now that they would be brother and sister, but when she saw them later, doing homework and teasing each other, her concerns disappeared. Until she realized he had just broken up with Talya.

When Callie and Brandon went out to a movie or a concert, or even to a party together, they allowed themselves to be more open with their feelings. Callie would lean into Brandon; he would throw his arms across her shoulders, because no one was paying attention to them. There would be other teenagers hooking up and drinking and dancing, but they confined themselves to a corner, always talking, close enough so that they can hear each other over the din of their oblivious classmates, who could only hope to have a connection like theirs.

From a stranger's view, they were just two people in love. They talked about what would happen if they just left and became different people, where no one knew how forbidden their love was. But neither knew they couldn't leave. It would only cause more problems for both parties.

They never drove home anymore. They would walk home from school, taking detours to go to the park or get a bite to eat. Moms assumed they were with other people, but it was always just the two of them. Their favorite spot was a bench across the street from the beach. Sometimes, they would run to the ocean like they would jump in, but instead they just stood at the shoreline staring at the waves.

They knew what they were doing wasn't helping. They were still in love and just seeing each other everyday made it increasingly real to them. But neither could imagine how miserable they would be if they didn't allow themselves these few moments of intimacy.

Problems arose when the adoption was only a week away. They were walking home from a movie when Callie decided to sit at their favorite spot. She started crying suddenly.

"Callie, what is it? What's wrong?" He put his hand on her back but she jumped away from his touch. She started pacing in front of him as he sat watching her. She was shaking her head trying to figure out why she was happy one moment with Brandon and then sobbing at their spot. But then she realized that was it. They had a spot. They had those moments. Their connection was stronger than ever and it was about to become a lot more complicated when they were brother and sister.

"We can't keep doing this! We're one week away from being family!"

"Callie we're not doing anything. We agreed we could make this work."

"What we're doing is pretending. We can't pretend forever."

"We don't need forever. We just need to wait until we're 18. By then we'll be across the country, in college." He took her hands and she sat down next to him. "We can't give up."

"Moms will figure it out. They thought us dating when we weren't even in the house together was wrong."

"What are we doing wrong? Going to a concert as friends?"

"We both know what's underlying these 'hang outs'."

"There's always something underlying us. Ever since you came into my life, every interaction between us has been like this. And it always will be." Brandon smiled when she rested her head in the crook of his neck. "I love you."

"I love you, too." She wanted to kiss him so badly. Instead, she just squeezed his hand. "This isn't easy."

"Sometimes you have to work for what is right."

* * *

Next Chapter: Lena and Stef confront to Brandon and Callie


	2. Confession

Author's Note: Stuff goes down guys. Stuff goes down.

* * *

They took their time getting home, not wanting to let go of the other, and ended up being 10 minutes late for curfew. Stef and Lena were standing on the porch and they tried to look normal as they walked up to the front door.

Stef cleared her throat. "Callie, can we talk to you?" Callie nodded and Brandon started up the stairs.

"Not so fast Brandon. Lena wants a word with you." Brandon glanced at Callie, eyes flashing with worry, they went inside while Stef, and Callie stayed outside.

"Why were you guys late? You said the movie ended 30 minutes ago." Stef asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"Um, we ran into some friends and started talking to them. The time got away from us I guess."

"Really? What friends?"

"I don't know they were more classmates that knew Brandon."

"Mhmm. Will Brandon say the same thing? Have you two corroborated stories?"

"Look, I'm sorry we were late. We didn't realize we were walking so slowly."

"Neither of you checked your phone? Neither one of you called to let us know you were okay?"

"It was just ten minutes. I'm sure if we got hit by a car you would have known."

"Don't be smart with me young lady. You don't know what went through our heads. We thought you were across state lines. We thought you decided to run off together. Don't," she stopped Callie from protesting, "Pretend like you two haven't thought about it. You are now closer than before you two kissed at the wedding. Brandon told us things were over between you two long before you came back to the house. That was a lie wasn't it?"

Callie was on the verge of tears. She knew this would happen, she just didn't think that Stef would be so angry about it. Lena probably wanted Stef to talk to Callie because Stef would kill Brandon. What Lena didn't know is that disappointing Stef was so much harder than disappointing Lena.

"We didn't break up until Frank's funeral. We were going to tell you guys that we were together the next day but I decided to come back. You convinced me to come back Stef. I know what I need is a family."

"Then why all this with Brandon."

Tears finally poured onto her face. She shuddered out, "I'm in love with him."

Stef looked sadly at her. "Callie you don't know that."

"I knew you wouldn't believe me if I told you. It's the same thing when Brandon told you guys." Callie wiped her eyes.

"He said he was wrong, that you two were just caught up in the moment."

"He only said that he was wrong so that you would lift the restraining order. Do you know how he felt to have his own mother willing to send him to jail if it meant he would be away from me?"

"It wasn't my idea."

"But you thought it was right."

"I didn't want you to feel unsafe here."

"Oh my God." Callie stood up. "Brandon has never made me feel unsafe. I'm tired of people comparing him to Liam." She sat back down as more tears flowed, hands pressed onto her face.

"I know that you think you're in love, but what if there's a chance this is all in your head. I know you trust him the most. You told him about Liam before you told Lena and I. Are you sure you aren't confusing comfort with love?"

Callie sniffed, trying to get the words out. "I've had the past few months to sort through my feelings. It's not just that I can tell him everything. It's that I get butterflies when I think about him. I feel electricity when we lock eyes. I love everything about him and I'm willing to give up everything to be with him. I almost did."

Callie stood up. "I want this Stef. I want all of it. I want to become a part of your family, I want to be able to call this place my home, but I want Brandon just as badly."

Callie walked to the door and tried to open it, but it was locked. "Unlock the door!"

"Callie, we're not letting you in until we figure out what to do with you two. This must end if you want to be adopted."

Callie was sobbing hard. She could barely stand. She slid down the door and put her head on top of her knees in a balled up position.

"Why? Why does it have to be like this?" Stef knelt down next to Callie, rubbing her arm as the girl shook with cries.

"What were you two planning on doing after the adoption?"

Callie sniffed and took some deep breaths. "We were going to wait until we were 18. We would be in college on the east coast, and I would never have to worry about you guys watching us. We were willing to wait until then."

Stef was surprised at how well they thought out their plan. She was hurt that they felt they needed to move so far away in order to be happy when it should have been the opposite, but how else could they be together when she made it clear it couldn't happen?

Stef had been adamant with Lena about talking to them a long time ago, sensing things were growing between her son and foster daughter. She wanted to stop it before it started, but Lena insisted that Callie would make the right decision for herself, like she did before. Lena trusted the kids to make their own choices, but Stef has seen too many good kids go down the wrong path that she felt the need to intervene before it was too late. Unfortunately, she waited to long, for she could sense that what they had was set in stone, unable to be erased.

Callie calmed down. She straightened her legs; her hands now flopped next to her body. She was all cried out. She waited for Stef to speak but Stef just stood up and looked down at her. Callie couldn't tell what she was feeling or thinking. She didn't know what was going to happen, where she would end up. All she knew is that it's over for her.

* * *

Second Author's Note: Stef's always been a little harsher on the kids than Lena, especially when it comes to her son, so I wanted to explore how Stef would talk to Callie. Also, it seems that in the show, there are more Stef/Callie interactions, so I wanted to keep it that way.

Next Chapter: Lena and Brandon talk about his feelings for Callie.


	3. Conflict

Author's Note: BTW this scene is happening at the exact same time as the last chapter. And thank you all for the reviews, follows, and favorites I've gotten so far. Love you.

* * *

Lena closed the door. Brandon got nervous when he realized they had separated them. Lena gestured to the couch. Brandon took a seat and Lena sat across from him on the auto man.

"So, you want to explain why you and Callie were so late."

"We just got lost." That excuse was so lame Brandon didn't even try to make it sound convincing.

"Nice try. You know this neighborhood like the back of your hand." Lena was trying to understand. She knew she wasn't technically Brandon's mother, but they had their moments. She hoped she could get through to him again.

"Listen, we know that you and Callie have gotten close. Your mom and I just want to be sure what happened at the wedding isn't going to happen again."

"It's not, okay?" He didn't want to keep lying to Lena. "I thought you guys trusted me."

"We just want to be careful. We need Callie to feel like she can really be a part of this family."

"And she can't do that because of me?"

Lena sighed. "Brandon, despite what you said when Callie was at the group home, I don't think that you felt the kiss was a mistake."

Brandon started protesting, "I swear, nothing has happened. We're just hanging out."

"Brandon, please. I need total honesty from you. Your mom and I were worried that you two had run off."

"Like we ran away to be together? Mom that's totally insane, we're sixteen, how could we possibly do it?"

"People do crazy things when they're in love." She hoped he would rebuff what she said and admit they're not that serious but she was met with a different reaction.

He turned to her irate and said, "Oh, so now you think we're in love. That would have been great a few months ago when I first told you guys."

"You told us it wasn't like that."

"I lied Lena." He yelled. "How else would I get you guys to let me see her? And I had to see her. I thought she just broke up with me."

"What do you mean 'broke up with you'? When were you two together?"

He hung his head. He'd dug himself into a hole with that sentence. "When I found her at the group home, I sneaked her a phone. We were texting back and forth and her roommate caught her with it. He took it and texted me telling me not to call her anymore. I thought something was wrong so I had to talk to her."

Lena felt deceived "So you tricked your mother and I because you thought she dumped you?"

He was indignant and his voice shook with resentment. "You took a restraining order against me!"

Lena pressed her face in her hands, trying to keep calm. "In hindsight, that was wrong. I let your mother convince me that some tough love was needed for you and Callie to learn your lesson."

"And what is this huh? Is Mom grilling Callie right now? Are you going to tell us how we need to stop having these feelings?" Brandon stood up. "I'm not letting you, of all people, tell me what I'm feeling is wrong."

"Brandon, Callie needs a family. Right now, you are her family. You have to be there for her."

"When have I ever not been there for her?"

"I mean like a brother."

"I don't know how else to be around her!" Brandon was screaming. "How am I supposed to act around the girl I'm in love with?"

Lena stood up. "What you two do affect her. It's not your life on the line. You have to do what's right for her."

That was his problem. Brandon had been questioning what he was doing for months. He knew what they were doing would only make things harder. He almost cracked so many times, whenever she would throw her head back and laugh, when she would start singing to one of his songs. He remembered how heartbroken he was when she told them things couldn't work out for them since she was coming back. After that, even having a piece of what they had before could get him through the day.

He convinced himself for weeks that what they were doing was harmless, but after the one time they came close to giving in, they had to face the fact that they weren't going to change.

He didn't realize he was crying until Lena started putting her arms around him. He sobbed harder and Lena went, "Shhhhh, shhhhhh," and rubbed his back.

Lena was suffering. She couldn't tell him what he was feeling was wrong because it technically wasn't. They weren't brother and sister. They knew each other for less than a year. She knew what was right for Callie was a family, but to see her son break down like this was hard.

They heard someone yell, "Unlock the door!" Brandon quickly turned and walked to the door, but Lena stopped him. "Brandon, we still need to talk."

"About what? You're not going to let us be together!" He said gesturing to the front door, where Callie lay sitting on the other side sobbing.

"Brandon-".

"-Not when she was in the group home, not when she was here, not ever as far as you're concerned."

"Brandon!" Lena shouted.

Brandon looked shocked and then shut up. Lena never raised her voice, ever. He was disappointed that he was the first one she yelled at.

He was disappointed in himself. He was a liar. He lied to so many people in the past few months: his moms, his friends, his siblings; he felt terrible about using Talya for those few weeks. He wasn't even honest with Callie. What they were doing wasn't harmless. It hurt Stef and Lena and it would hurt Jude when he found out. It was only a matter of time before everything fell apart for them in this household. And it looked like it was happening.

"I think it's time we went back outside."

* * *

Next Chapter: Callie and Brandon talk about their choice.


	4. Fight For It

Author's Note: Guys, I was checking the traffic stats and you guys are _still _reading _Whispers and Screams_. It's been like a week since I finished it and I can't believe it's still getting views. Thanks guys. That's awesome. And Fosters is on tomorrow (*squeals*).

* * *

Callie heard the lock click and clambered up as the front door finally opened. Lena stood in front but Callie pushed her way past her to get to Brandon. He hugged her close and she could tell that he had been crying too. Lena and Stef stood off the side, watching this display of adoration, wondering what they were going to do.

"Stef and I are going to talk. You two can go inside."

"And stay in your rooms," Stef demanded, her eyes boring into her son's, who stood defiantly towards her, his hand clasped with Callie's behind her back.

They escaped into the house and Brandon pulled her into his room. "Brandon! I don't think Stef wants us in your room."

"She wants to keep us apart in any way, shape, or form, and I'm not going to let her."

They sat on the bed, his arm around her shoulder and her head in his neck. She hugged his torso and he kissed her forehead. "They're not going to adopt me."

"I'm sorry."

"It's how it's supposed to be. I guess I was never meant to be a part of this family."

"Maybe not as my sister, but if things work out like they're supposed to..." She looked up at him, her face breaking out into a smile. She put her hand on the back of his neck and pulled him towards her, connecting their lips for the first time in months. They had been strong, promising to wait, but what was the point of waiting when it was so obvious that day wasn't going to come like they thought it would?

No, if there was a future for them, it wasn't going to be in this house. She would be sent away, someplace where people that didn't cared would be taking care of her. She would have to build up all her walls that had been broken down the past few months, shutting herself down again.

Jude would most likely stay here, making his place permanent, because she can't think he would leave because of her, especially if Brandon was involved with it. And Stef and Lena would never let him leave. He was theirs now. Callie thought she had been sharing Jude with the Fosters but she realizes that Jude was leaving their small bubble that made them family and moving on, not because he wanted to leave her, but because he thought, she would come with him.

Callie had been kissing Brandon for who knows how long, when the tears started streaming down her face, because the kiss was just sealing the deal for her leaving. She wishes she could hate the kiss because it only made the inevitable departure harder to handle.

When they broke away, his face was wet with her tears and he brushed them off her cheeks, kissing where they streamed down her face and she basked in how good it felt. Her fingers had been playing with his hair, which needed a good trimming, and she kept brushing her fingers through. Brandon tucked a piece of hair behind her face and left his hand on her cheek.

"That," he said referring to the kiss, "was worth the wait."

She nodded and pulled him towards her again, her lips meeting his and moving at a slow pace, wanting to feel the heat grow between them like a fire burning, not igniting it like a match.

But like a fire, it burns everything it touches and Callie couldn't help but feel the consequences of what they were doing.

"It's over Brandon, they're going to send me away."

He nodded his head; he knew it was true. "I'm sorry." He kissed Callie's cheek and then the corner of her mouth. "I'm sorry that I ruined your chances of getting a family."

She took his hand and squeezed it. "They were going to find out about us sooner or later. Let's just be happy it was before I became your sister."

"At least now, moms finally see that we are in love."

"But what will they do? They want me to be a part of this family, but they won't keep me if I want to be with you."

"They won't throw you out Callie." He reassured her. "I'm sure it would be much easier just to send me to my dad's again."

"But you're their son B."

"And you're their daughter."

"Not in their eyes."

"Not in the courts eyes, Callie. To them, you and Jude are as much a part of this family as Marianna and Jesus are."

"It doesn't matter how they see it. If I can't figure out a way to stay here permanently, I'll never be out of the system. But I don't want to lose you." She cupped his cheek with one hand and moved the other around his neck, playing with the hairs on the back of his neck. She looked at him through her lashes. "If I have to leave, I need you to promise me you will take care of Jude, that you will not do anything stupid, and that you will take care of yourself."

"Take care of myself?" He was confused.

"Yes. I don't want what happened last time to happen again, just because I wasn't there for you."

He wrapped her into a hug and her body shook as tears rolled down her face. "You don't need to worry about anything, okay. You're staying. You're going to stay here, with Jude and I, and you're going to have a home."

She held him tightly to her body as he continued on, "You belong here, and I'm not letting you get away from me, not again."

"I know Brandon." She backed away from him enough to look him in the eye. "And I'm not going to just accept that I am leaving. We will fight for this and we will win." She connected their foreheads and ghosted her lips over his, "We will win."

He was right. She wasn't going to give this up so easily, not like when she ran away. She wasn't going to let Lena and Stef say otherwise. They were going to fight for it, for them.

They were going to be together whether they liked it or not.

* * *

Next Chapter: Stef and Lena discuss Callie's future


	5. Underlying Issues

Author's Note: Sorry this came out later than usual. I got lazy and didn't write this chapter until yesterday. I finished it today and now I am posting it. This is the penultimate chapter, so last one will be tomorrow (if I get off my butt and start writing it). Don't worry, I will be posting a story soon after. I will talk more about it in the next chapter.

* * *

Lena and Stef slumped on the porch steps, both tired from their talks with the teens, each with their own thoughts running through their minds.

"Why couldn't she have just fallen in love with some 24 year old college graduate. At least then, we knew what we were doing was right."

"Lena, we are right. Callie doesn't need a boyfriend, what she needs is a family to take care of her."

"But Brandon isn't just a boyfriend Stef. He's the person who helped her save Jude. He's the one that helped her through the whole Liam ordeal."

"Lena-"

"I'm just saying, maybe we are underestimating their feelings."

"So what, we should just let them be together? What if they break up? Should we send Brandon to his father or send her and Jude away?"

"Stef, I don't need you to argue with me. Brandon already did that and frankly, he is so much your son right now."

"What did he say?"

"Basically, he lied to us while she was in the group home?"

Stef's eyes went wide. "What did he do?"

"He gave her a cellphone and snuck out to be with her."

"Oh my god." Stef put her head in her hands. "If jail time doesn't scare him off, grounding him or sending him to his dad's isn't going to change anything."

"We can't scare him off Stef. He needs to accept that they can't be together for Callie to be in a safe home."

Stef stayed silent before moving her hands under her chin, looking down at the ground. "They were going to wait until they were eighteen."

"What?"

"Yeah, they were going to wait until they went to college." Stef sighed. "No matter what we did, they were going to be together."

Lena stood up and faced Stef. "Then why are we even having this conversation? If they don't care about it why should we?"

"Because we are their parents and they need to realize that if they want to be treated like adults, they need to act like adults."

"You don't think they know that. Callie almost got an apartment for goodness sake. And she's face a lot of things, things Brandon helped her through."

"Callie doesn't just need Brandon, she needs a family, a roof over her head, a stable living environment, and our son is unfortunately none of those things." Stef stood up and joined Lena, who was now standing next to the rail.

Lena looked over and Stef, her eyebrows furrowed. "Is there another reason you are so against your son being in love with our foster daughter?"

Stef turns to Lena, "Excuse me? What are you implying?"

"Nothing."

Stef scoffed and walked away. "You're thinking something Lena. You wouldn't just blurt something out like that."

"Okay, it just seems like you seem very hostile towards the idea that our children may be in love with each other."

"I have nothing against our children, I just don't want them to make a mistake that they will regret for the rest of their lives! They think they will be together forever, but they can't possibly know that. They could be throwing away everything they have on the chance that what they have will be permanent."

"And you don't believe that."

"Just look at my life, Lena. I met Mike when I was 20 and married him when I was 22 and within a year, we were having problems. It took meeting you to realize that I had rushed into marrying him because I had just gotten pregnant with Brandon."

"Callie isn't pregnant."

Stef raised her eyebrows. "Are you sure?"

Lena threw her hands into the air. "Oh my God, Stef. I think one of them would have mentioned this to us."

"You think my idea of her being pregnant is less likely than them running away?"

"Yes, okay, I was the one that thought that was what they did, but don't you think they would have told us Callie was pregnant? Brandon admitted to breaching the restraining order and Callie told you they were going to be together."

"Maybe they wanted to control how mad we were by only telling us some parts of their secret relationship."

"They're good kids Stef,"

"Good kids don't lie to their mothers about something so important."

"And good mothers don't make their children suffer for the sake of something that will only help one of them. Callie needs a family that can support her and right now, we are not acting supportive. We constantly tell her that she deserves happiness and love and here we are dangling it in front of her every time she sees Brandon. We are not losing her Stef, but we will if she and Brandon run off to the East Coast because they can't be happy in the place they call their home."

"Callie won't have any place to call her home if we don't adopt her."

"Is that our only option? Why don't we foster her until she turns 18?"

"She'll be at risk of being taken from our home."

"What about legal guardianship. I know two children at school are living with people that aren't their parents. And it's not forever but it will get her out of the system and it won't condemn her and Brandon."

Stef stayed silent and they let it sink in when she shook her head. "We just wanted to help her and Jude. Why did something good have to become bad?"

Lena took her partners hands and spoke calmly. "Adoption just makes them officially ours. It's only telling us what we already know. Callie and Jude are already a part of our family in our hearts."

Stef looked into her partner's eyes.

"But is that enough?"

* * *

Next Chapter: The End


	6. This Moment

Author's Note: Guys, I seriously can't believe how long it took me to write this. I had like, the opposite of writer's block. I would keep writing and then hating what I wrote and deleting it all and then starting all over again. I just for the life of me couldn't write this ending the way I wanted to. Right now though, I am happy. It is done, proofread, and I am posting this for you guys. Now, while I eat a pint of ice cream, consoling myself into writing the second chapter of _Words That Were Never Spoken_, which I at least have an idea about, enjoy the final chapter of _What is Right?_

* * *

"You know what I love the most about this moment."

"What?"

"You." Brandon wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Everything I love is because of you."

Callie laughed and nudged him in the ribs. "You are such a dork."

"Since when does stating my love make me a dork?"

"It doesn't. It's you being a dork that makes you a dork."

Brandon shot her a smirk and then quickly pressed his lips to hers, and she turned her head so that he only got her cheek. He kept kissing her face as she giggled and shook her head. He didn't stop until his lips caught hers, a kiss that lasted until he pulled away.

"I didn't think I'd be able to do this for a long time."

Callie nodded. "Yeah," she grasped his hand, "I mean, we still can't let everybody know that we're together, but it's nice to do this," she held up his hand, "without looking over my shoulder."

He kissed her knuckles, "I for one, will never get sick of this feeling."

She caressed his face, "Shut up and kiss me."

Brandon happily obliged, cupping her cheeks and then pulling her to him, and she found herself pulling his shirt towards her to bring him closer.

"Whoa there guys, remember, keep it Disney Chanel level in the house."

Brandon broke away from Callie. "Sorry mom," Stef smirked at her son and then bent down so her eyes were level with mine.

"You ready for the talk with Bill today?"

Callie nodded her head, "Yeah."

"You know what you're going to say."

She nodded her head again, "I don't want to be adopted, and I would rather just stay here with you and Lena as my legal guardians."

"And we agree with that wholeheartedly; we want to provide you with a safe home and we will continue adopting Jude."

"Thank you, again, for that."

"Of course love. We would do anything for you and Jude. I mean, Lena and I gave up being your mothers for you two to be together," gesturing to Callie and Brandon.

Callie gave her a smile. "You guys are my moms. I just don't have a piece of paper saying it, and I don't need one." Stef grinned and took her hand.

"We feel the same way."

* * *

"Jude."

He looked up from his textbook. "Yes Callie?"

"Can we talk?"

He nodded and she took a seat next to him on the couch. "So, I'm going to talk to Bill today."

"I know."

"And I'm going to tell him I don't want to be adopted."

He nodded again. "Because you want to be with Brandon."

She smiles sadly at him. "I can't be his sister Jude."

"I know," he smiled. "But you're still my sister."

Callie grinned. "And you're still my little brother." She kissed him on top of his head and started walking away.

"Wait," Callie turned around to look at Jude. "I just want to say something first."

"Okay, what is it Jude?"

He stood up, "I don't hate Brandon."

"He doesn't think you do."

"No, but I never did. Even when I was mad at him for getting you sent to that group home, I didn't hate him. I thought he was going to hurt you Callie. After Liam, every foster brother seemed like some sort of monster."

"Jude, you were right to be afraid of Liam. He was a monster. But you can't think that way about every foster brother we have. I mean just look at Jesus. He's like a giant teddy bear."

"Just don't tell him that."

"Right." She laughed. "And Brandon is harmless compared to him."

"Yeah, but he could've hurt you emotionally."

She cocked her head. "Yeah he could. He could break my heart into a million pieces."

"And you're not worried he will."

"Sometimes I think that I've hurt him too many times for him to forgive me, but I guess what gave me hope was he never gave up on me. We would fight and argue but it was like no matter how mad I would get at him, he would do something or say something that reminded me how much I love him."

"How did you know?"

"How did I know what?"

"That you were in love with him?"

Callie smiled. "I don't know. It just happened. I knew I was falling for him but it wasn't until the wedding that I knew it had already happened."

"So it wasn't like, a sign?"

"No bud. Nothing tells you you're in love better than your own heart. Why are you asking?"

He shrugged. "No reason."

"Oh yeah? Is there something you don't want your lame older sister to know?"

"If there was," he picked up his text book, "I wouldn't tell you." He turned and winked at her.

"Jude!" She got up and started chasing him up the stairs. He laughed and ran into Brandon's room.

"Help me!" He yelled and Brandon shot up as Callie entered to room.

"Just tell me who it is." Callie shouted.

"There's nothing to tell." He was hiding behind Brandon and Callie kept trying to grab him.

"What is going on?" Brandon was blocking Callie from Jude. "Why am I being used as a force field?"

"Jude has a crush-"

"-No I don't-"

"-And he won't tell me who."

Brandon laughed and then wrapped his arms around her; "I'm taking Jude's side on this. Nothing is worse than your sister knowing who your crush is."

"Oh really?"

"Yes. I remember when I was 13, Marianna cock blocked me after telling my crush every nerdy thing I did."

"You're still a nerd."

"I'd like to think I've grown up a bit."

"Oh, you have, trust me." She reached up and kissed him hard.

"Ew guys, I'm still in the room." Jude backed away to the door, textbook covering his face.

Callie giggled and closed the door behind him.

She turns back to Brandon, walking slowly towards him. "You didn't take my side."

Brandon would've thought she was mad if it weren't for the small smile on her face and the fact that she reached for his hands and pulled him towards her. "Hey, bros before hoes."

She raises one eyebrow. "I see. Does that mean you would rather spend time with him right now. Or would you rather we continue."

He smirks and steps closer. "I think I can make an exception for a special reason."

"And what is that reason?"

He leans down and ghosts his mouth over hers. "I love you," his breathe blowing against her lips.

"I love you, too."

And as his arms wrapped themselves around her frame and her fingers wound its way through his hair, she knew everything she went through was worth it, just to know that her lips could meet his like this and breath easy knowing she and Jude were safe.

She knew it wasn't happily ever after. They weren't perfect. They weren't going to get everything they wanted out of life. This probably wasn't going to be the hardest thing they will ever have to go through. But they were one thing.

They were right.

The End.


End file.
